I have an Arkel Metropolitan pannier (“Metro” for short) in-house for review and I took it out on a real commute for the first time today. Here are a few first impressions:

It’s a sharp looking bag.

It looks business-like and fits in well at the office.

It rides a little higher than some bags, making for more heel clearance.

Even though it appears to be smaller than the Arkel Bug (review here), it holds about the same amount of stuff.

The single shoulder strap is well-padded, but if you carry a lot of junk like I do and you have a multi-modal commute that involves getting on and off of transit and walking long distances, the Bug with its double backpack straps is likely to be more comfortable for you.

It has a flat bottom and stands up nicely on its own.

The overall quality and workmanship is vintage Arkel – in a word, superb.

I also have a matching Metro handlebar bag on test. I’ll publish full reviews with detailed photos of both once I’ve had more time to give them a real workout.

I looked at the Metro when I was shopping for a bag recently, but decided to go with the Bug, mainly because the Bug has a helmet holster that I thought would come in handy (I hate carrying a helmet around when I’m food shopping, and putting it in the bag itself leaves no room for my groceries). The helmet holster is a nice feature of the Bug, but when the bag is loaded full you can’t really fit a helmet in it anymore, there’s not enough room.